Sulphury Flycatcher

A medium-sized sparrow with crisp patterning. Slightly smaller than Song Sparrow, with finer streaking on breast (like a pen-and-ink drawing vs. an oil painting). Also note thin pale eyering, bright buffy breast that contrasts with white throat and belly, and often peaked crown. Breeds in thickets and shrubby clearings, usually within mixed or coniferous forests. Can be found in any brushy or weedy habitat in migration and winter. Beware of juvenile Song Sparrows in late summer, which can look buffy and show finer streaks than adults. Infrequently visits feeders.

A relatively large-billed shrike-like bird primarily found in lowland forest canopy. Male is white below and iridescent black above except for a white rump. The female is overall reddish brown, with more reddish wings and a grayish hood. Similar to several bicolored shrikelike birds in the region, but note Sabine’s Puffback’s large bill, striking sexual dimorphism, and unique song, which consists of a distinctive series of long whistles descending in pitch before arriving at a single repeated pitch, growing louder, and then ending suddenly. Songs can sometimes last several minutes, and are more reminiscent of some Yellow Longbill songs than of the songs of other puffbacks. Calls include typical puffback-like rattles and harsh calls. 

Medium-sized, elegant seabird of the deep Pacific Ocean, rare in Japanese waters. Grayish above, white below, with dark “M” pattern in upperparts. White forehead extensive; dark gray crown stands out against lighter gray back and often terminated by a sharp white “notch” of plumage. Underwing mostly white, with only small black marks at the “wrists,” unlike many other gadfly petrels, and tip of tail extensively black, unlike rather similar Cook’s and Masatierra Petrels.